Minor Environment (18 credits)

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Offered by: McGill School of Environment
Degree: Bachelor of Arts and Science

Program Requirements

This 18-credit Minor is intended for Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Science students and Faculty of Science students, but is open to students from other faculties as well, except Arts, Law and Management.

Advising Note:

Consultation with the Program Adviser for approval of course selection to meet program requirements is obligatory. Only courses at the 200 level and above will be approved.

Complementary Courses (18 credits)

18 credits of complementary courses are selected as follows:

12 credits of MSE core courses:

Location Note: MSE core courses are taught at both McGill's Downtown campus and at the Macdonald campus in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue. You should register in Section 001 of an ENVR course that you plan to take on the Downtown campus, and in Section 051 of an ENVR course that you plan to take on the Macdonald campus.

Overview

Environment : A systems approach to study the different components of the environment involved in global climate change: the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. The interactions among these components. Their role in global climate change. The human dimension to global change.

Overview

Environment : Formation of the Earth and the evolution of life. How geological and biological change are the consequence of history, chance, and necessity acting over different scales of space and time. General principles governing the formation of modern landscapes and biotas. Effects of human activities on natural systems.

Overview

Environment : Introduction to cultural perspectives on the environment: the influence of culture and cognition on perceptions of the natural world; conflicts in orders of knowledge (models, taxonomies, paradigms, theories, cosmologies), ethics (moral values, frameworks, dilemmas), and law (formal and customary, rights and obligations) regarding political dimensions of critical environments, resource use, and technologies.

Overview

Environment : Students work in interdisciplinary seminar groups on challenging philosophical, ethical, scientific and practical issues. They will explore cutting-edge ideas and grapple with the reconciliation of environmental imperatives and social, political and economic pragmatics. Activities include meeting practitioners, attending guest lectures, following directed readings, and organizing, leading and participating in seminars.

6 credits of environmentally related courses selected with the approval of the Program Adviser (at least 3 credits must be in social sciences). A list of Suggested Courses is given below.

Suggested Course List

The Suggested Course List is divided into two thematic categories: Social Sciences and Policy; and Natural Sciences and Technology.

Most courses listed at the 300 level and higher have prerequisites. You are urged to prepare your program of study with this in mind.

This list is not meant to be exhaustive. You are also encouraged to examine the course lists of the various domains in the Environment program for other courses that might interest you. Courses not on the Suggested Course list may be included in the Minor with the permission of the MSE Program Adviser.

Location Note: When planning your schedule and registering for courses, you should verify where each course is offered because courses for this program are taught at both McGill's Downtown campus and at the Macdonald campus in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue.

Social Sciences and Policy

* Note: If WILD 415 is taken, 1 additional credit of complementary courses must be taken.

Overview

Agricultural Economics : The structure and organization of Canada's agriculture-food system, the operation, financing, linkages, and functions of its components. Focus to be on management of the various components and the entire system, types of problems confronted now and in the future.

Overview

Agricultural Economics : The role of resources in the environment, use of resources, and management of economic resources within the firm or organization. Problem-solving, case studies involving private and public decision-making in organizations are utilized.

Overview

Agricultural Economics : Examination of North American and international agriculture, food and resource policies, policy instruments, programs and their implications. Economic analysis applied to the principles, procedures and objectives of various policy actions affecting agriculture, and the environment.

Overview

Agricultural Economics : The course deals with economic aspects of international development with emphasis on the role of food, agriculture and the resource sector in the economy of developing countries. Topics will include world food analysis, development project analysis and policies for sustainable development. Development case studies will be used.

Overview

Anthropology : Introduction to ecological anthropology, focusing on social and cultural adaptations to different environments, human impact on the environment, cultural constructions of the environment, management of common resources, and conflict over the use of resources.

Overview

Anthropology : Processes of developmental change, as they affect small communities in the Third World and in unindustrialized parts of developed countries. Problems of technological change, political integration, population growth, industrialization, urban growth, social services, infrastructure and economic dependency.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Overview

Anthropology : Intensive study of theories and cases in ecological anthropology. Theories are examined and tested through comparative case-study analysis. Cultural constructions of "nature" and "environment" are compared and analyzed. Systems of resource management and conflicts over the use of resources are studied in depth.

Overview

Anthropology : Historical, theoretical and methodological development of political ecology as a field of inquiry on the interactions between society and environment, in the context of conflicts over natural resources.

Overview

Bioresource Engineering : Water and society and the ramifications at the local, national and international scales with respect to legal and public policy issues related to, for example, drinking water quality, transboundary water management, public involvement, First Nations, agriculture, governance, and institutions relevant to the management of water resources.

Terms: Fall 2014

Instructors: Murray Clamen (Fall)

Fall

Restrictions: Only open to students in the Master of Science in Integrated Water Resources Management Program, or other graduate students by permission of the instructor. Not open to students who have taken NRSC 512.

Overview

Civil Engineering : The City in History. The planning profession, evolution of planning in North America, Canada and Quebec. Planning theories, the general or master plan, planning processes and techniques, planning and design of residential subdivisions. Local planning issues, housing policies, planning laws.

Overview

Economics (Arts) : A critical study of the insights to be gained through economic analysis of a number of problems of broad interest. The focus will be on the application of economics to issues of public policy.

Terms: Fall 2014

Instructors: Thomas James Velk (Fall)

Restriction: Not open to students who have taken ECON 205D.

Restriction: This course does not count for credit towards the Minor Concentration, Major Concentration, or Honours degree in Economics.

Overview

Economics (Arts) : A study of the application of economic theory to questions of environmental policy. Particular attention will be given to the measurement and regulation of pollution, congestion and waste and other environmental aspects of specific economies.

Overview

Economics (Arts) : Macroeconomic and structural aspects of the ecological crisis. A course in which subjects discussed include the conflict between economic growth and the laws of thermodynamics; the search for alternative economic indicators; the fossil fuels crisis; and "green'' fiscal policy.

Overview

Economics (Arts) : The course focuses on the economic implications of, and problems posed by, predictions of global warming due to anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases. Attention is given to economic policies such as carbon taxes and tradeable emission permits and to the problems of displacing fossil fuels with new energy technologies.

Overview

Economics (Arts) : Topics include: Malthusian and Ricardian Scarcity; optimal depletion of renewable and non-renewable resources; exploration, risk and industry structure, and current resources, rent and taxation. Current public policies applied to the resource industries, particularly those of a regulatory nature.

Overview

Environmental Biology : Theories and procedures of assessing environmental impact. An examination of the environmental impact of existing programs and projects to examine their accuracy in predicting consequences and attenuating undesirable effects.

Terms: Winter 2015

Instructors: Gordon Hickey (Winter)

Winter

2 lectures

Restrictions: U2 students and above. Not open to students who have taken WILD 437 or NRSC 437.

Overview

Environment : Introduction to cultural perspectives on the environment: the influence of culture and cognition on perceptions of the natural world; conflicts in orders of knowledge (models, taxonomies, paradigms, theories, cosmologies), ethics (moral values, frameworks, dilemmas), and law (formal and customary, rights and obligations) regarding political dimensions of critical environments, resource use, and technologies.

Overview

Environment : Students work in interdisciplinary seminar groups on challenging philosophical, ethical, scientific and practical issues. They will explore cutting-edge ideas and grapple with the reconciliation of environmental imperatives and social, political and economic pragmatics. Activities include meeting practitioners, attending guest lectures, following directed readings, and organizing, leading and participating in seminars.

Overview

Geography : Introduction to geography as the study of nature and human beings in a spatial context. An integrated approach to environmental systems and the human organization of them from the viewpoint of spatial relationships and processes. Special attention to environmental problems as a constraint upon Third World development.

Overview

Geography : Introduction to key themes in human geography. Maps and the making, interpretation and contestation of landscapes, 'place', and territory. Investigation of globalization and the spatial organization of human geo-politics, and urban and rural environments.

Overview

Geography : The course introduces the geography of the world economic system. It describes the spatial distribution of economic activities and examines the factors which influence their changing location. Case studies from both "developed" and "developing" countries will test the different geographical theories presented in lectures.

Overview

Geography : This course introduced physical and social environments as factors in human health, with emphasis on the physical properties of the atmospheric environment as they interact with diverse human populations in urban settings.

Terms: Winter 2015

Instructors: Ian Brett Strachan, Nancy Ross (Winter)

Winter

3 hours

Restriction: Not open to students who have taken or are taking NRSC 221.

Note: This course is also offered as NRSC 221. Students enrolled in downtown campus programs register in GEOG 221; students enrolled in Macdonald campus programs register in NRSC 221. In Winter 2013, GEOG 221/NRSC 221 will be taught on the downtown campus.

Overview

Geography : The course will examine research approaches in human ecology since its inception early in this century. Emphasis will be placed on the theoretical shifts that have led to its emergence as an important social science perspective. The course will also involve case studies to evaluate the methodological utility of the approach.

Overview

Geography : An introduction to the physical and cultural geography of Canada's newest territory. The course will emphasize the bio-physical heterogeneity of the natural environment and the cultural and political ecology of the human population.

Overview

Geography : An ecological analysis of the physical and biotic components of natural resource systems. Emphasis on scientific, technological and institutional aspects of environmental management. Study of the use of biological resources and of the impact of individual processes.

Terms: Fall 2014, Summer 2015

Instructors: Holly Dressel (Fall) Thomas C Meredith (Summer)

3 hours

Prerequisite: Any 200-level course in Geography or MSE or BIOL 208 or permission of instructor.

**Due to the intensive nature of this course, the standard add/drop and withdrawal deadlines do not apply. Add/drop is the second lecture day and withdrawal is the fourth lecture day.

Overview

Geography : Discussion of the research questions and methods of health geography. Particular emphasis on health inequalities at multiple geographic scales and the theoretical links between characteristics of places and the health of people.

Overview

Geography : Discussion of the goals of protected areas, focusing on the potential conflict between biodiversity conservation and use for recreation, education and sustainable extraction of resources. Principles and current issues in protected area design and management are reviewed. Examples are taken from developed and developing countries.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Overview

Geography : Foundations and applications of earth citizenship. Foundations: sustainability, tragedy of the commons, dominion, privatization and public welfare, resilience, precautionary principle, and land ethic are critically considered. Applications: implications for relationship between human and natural economies; human population size and control; and morality of modern agricultural and forestry practices.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Winter

Restrictions: Not open to students who have taken or are taking NRSC 374. Restricted to U2 or U3 students. Enrolment limited to 50.

Overview

Geography : Major themes and contemporary case studies in global health and environmental change. Focus on understanding global trends in emerging infectious disease from social, biophysical, and geographical perspectives, and critically assessing the health implications of environmental change in different international contexts.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Overview

Geography : Examines the geographical dimensions of development policy, specifically the relationships between the process of development and human-induced environmental change. Focuses on environmental sustainability, struggles over resource control, population and poverty, and levels of governance (the role of the state, non-governmental organizations, and local communities).

Overview

Geography : An examination of the cultural, political, and economic mechanisms and manifestations of contemporary underdevelopment and the response to it from different regional and national peripheral societies within the dominant world economic system.

Overview

Geography : Linkage of physical processes (hydrology and ecosystems) with issues of societal and socio-economic relevance (land, food, and water use appropriation for human well-being). Application of a holistic perspective on land, food and water issues in an international setting, highlighting linkages, feedbacks and trade-offs in an Earth system context.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Overview

Geography : This course deals with the role of geographic information, paradigms and modes of analysis - including but not restricted to GIS - in environmental impact assessment and decision making. The focus will be on community-based decision making, particularly where conservation issues are involved. Cross-cultural situations, developing areas and the role of non-government organizations.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Overview

Management Policy : This course explores the relationship between economic activity, management, and the natural environment. Using readings, discussions and cases, the course will explore the challenges that the goal of sustainable development poses for our existing notions of economic goals, production and consumption practices and the management of organizations.

Overview

Natural Resource Sciences : Introduction to physical and social environments as factors contributing to the production of human health, with emphasis on the physical properties of the atmospheric environment as they interact with diverse human populations in urban settings.

Terms: Winter 2015

Instructors: Ian Brett Strachan (Winter)

Restriction: Not open to students who are taking or have taken GEOG 221.

Note: This course is also offered as GEOG 221. Students enrolled in main campus programs register as GEOG 221; students enrolled in Macdonald campus programs register as NRSC 221.

Overview

Natural Resource Sciences : Discussion of current debates and problems related to water, especially in developing countries. Topics include: gender relations and health in the context of cultural and economic systems, and the impacts of new technologies, market structures and population growth.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Winter

Prerequisite: A 300- or 400-level course in water or permission of instructor.

Overview

Philosophy : An introductory discussion of central ethical questions (the value of persons, or the relationship of rights and utilities, for example) through the investigation of currently disputed social and political issues. Specific issues to be discussed may include pornography and censorship, affirmative action, civil disobedience, punishment, abortion, and euthanasia.

Overview

Philosophy : An investigation of ethical issues as they arise in the practice of medicine (informed consent, e.g.) or in the application of medical technology (in vitro fertilization, euthanasia, e.g.)

Overview

Political Science : Introduction to the study of comparative politics as it applies both to the developed world and developing countries. The course presents the basic concepts and approaches used in the field of comparative politics and it focuses on patterns of similarity and difference in a way political institutions and processes are structured in a wide variety of national contexts.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Note: The area in the field of Comparative Politics is Developed Areas.

Overview

Political Science : The nature of politics in a few selected nations of the industrialized world, applying the concepts introduced in POLI 211 to specific national contexts. Countries studied will be drawn principally from Europe and North America.

Terms: Fall 2014

Instructors: Hudson Meadwell (Fall)

Note: The area in the field of Comparative Politics is Developed Areas.

Overview

Political Science : An introduction to Third World politics. A comparative examination of the legacies of colonialism, the achievement of independence, and contemporary dynamics of political and socio-economic development in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Topics include modernization, dependency, state-building and national integration, revolution, the role of the military, and democratization.

Terms: Winter 2015

Instructors: Julie Norman (Winter)

Note: The area in the field of Comparative Politics is Developing Areas.

Overview

Political Science : Advanced course in international political economy; the politics of international of monetary relations, such as international rules governing international finance, the reasons for and consequences of financial flows, and the functioning of international financial bodies such as the IMF and World Bank.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Overview

Psychology : The course offers students an overview of the major topics in social psychology. Three levels of analysis are explored beginning with individual processes (e.g., attitudes, attribution), then interpersonal processes (e.g., attraction, communication, love) and finally social influence processes (e.g., conformity, norms, roles, reference groups).

Overview

Religious Studies : Philosophies of science and of religion have created a more positive dialogue on questions of method, symbolism and rationality. Examines key issues (e.g. creation and evolution; objectivity and involvement; determinism and freedom) raised by natural and social sciences, and various possible solutions.

Overview

Religious Studies : Social justice and human rights issues as key aspects of modem religious ethics. Topics include: the relationship of religion to the modem human rights movement;
religious perspectives on the universality of human rights; the scope and limits of religious freedom; conflicts between religion and rights.

Overview

Religious Studies : A discussion of ethical theory will provide the background for an analysis of the relationship between religious world views and moral reason. Attention will be given to the way in which the dominant religious traditions view the exemplars of religious virtue, and to how the virtues exemplified are related to and justified by the faith tradition in which they operate.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Overview

Sociology (Arts) : Comparative analysis of the process of urbanization in Europe, North America and the Third World; effects of urbanization upon social institutions and individuals; theories of urbanization and urbanism; the Canadian urban system; urban problems in comparative view.

Overview

Sociology (Arts) : Introduction to the reciprocal linkages in the social world between population size, structure and dynamics on the one hand, social structure, action and change on the other. An examination of population processes and their relation to the social world.

Overview

Sociology (Arts) : An examination of the extent to which technological developments impose constraints on ways of arranging social relationships in bureaucratic organizations and in the wider society: the compatibility of current social structures with the effective utilization of technology.

Overview

Sociology (Arts) : Competing theories about the causes of underdevelopment in the poor countries. Topics include the impact of geography, the population explosion, culture and national character, economic and sexual inequalities, democracy and dictatorship. Western imperialism and multi-national corporations, reliance on the market, and development through local participation, cooperation, and appropriate technology.

Overview

Sociology (Arts) : This course will focus on contemporary social movements in Canada, the U.S., and Western Europe, such as the civil rights movement, the women's movement, and the environmental movement. Empirical studies of movements will be used to explore such general issues as how social movements emerge, grow, and decline.

Overview

Urban Planning : The study of how urban planners respond to the challenges posed by contemporary cities world-wide. Urban problems related to the environment, shelter, transport, human health, livelihoods and governance are addressed; innovative plans to improve cities and city life are analyzed.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Overview

Urban Planning : Urban environmental planning with a focus on sustainability and smart growth. Consideration is given to the tools, techniques and processes that planners use to promote sustainable urban development. Local applications and community initiatives are addressed.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Overview

Agriculture : Management of soil and water systems for sustainability. Cause of soil degradation, surface and groundwater contamination by agricultural chemicals and toxic pollutants. Human health and safety concerns. Water-table management. Soil and water conservation techniques will be examined with an emphasis on methods of prediction and best management practices.

Terms: Fall 2014

Instructors: Zhiming Qi, Chandra A Madramootoo, Asim Biswas (Fall)

Fall

3 lectures and one 3-hour lab

This course carries an additional charge of $13 to cover the cost of transportation with respect to a field trip. The fee is refundable only during the withdrawal with full refund period.

Overview

Anthropology : Critical evaluation of theories concerning primate behaviour with emphasis on the importance of ecological factors in framing behaviour, including mating behaviour, parent care, social structures, communication, as well as various forms of social interaction such as dominance, territoriality and aggressive expression.

Overview

Architecture : The study of the creation, form and usage of the exterior space generated in various patterns of low-rise housing. Socio-cultural aspects of patterns; exterior space as a logical extension of the living unit; social control of the use of urban and suburban land; comparative model for low-rise housing patterns.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Overview

Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences : Laws of motion, geostrophic wind, gradient wind. General circulation of the atmosphere and oceans, local circulation features. Air-sea interaction, including hurricanes and sea-ice formation, extra-tropical weather systems and fronts, role of the atmosphere and oceans in climate.

Overview

Biology (Sci) : The characteristics of the major groups of animals, their ancestry, history and relationship to one another. The processes of speciation, adaptive radiation and extinction responsible for diversity. Methods for constructing of phylogenies, for comparing phenotypes, and for estimating and analyzing diversity.

Overview

Biology (Sci) : Ecological bases of the natural causes and consequences of current global environmental changes, including how biodiversity and ecosystem processes are defined and measured, how they vary in space and time, how they are affected by physical and biological factors, and how they affect each other and human societies.

Overview

Biology (Sci) : The life history and ecology of freshwater invertebrates in lakes, rivers and wetlands; habitat requirements, functional ecology and food web interactions; the role of invertebrates in the functioning of aquatic ecosystems; threats to freshwater diversity.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2014-2015 academic year.

This course, involving two field weekends, has an additional fee of $280, which includes room and board and transportation. The fee is refundable during the period where a student can drop the course with full refund. The Department of Biology subsidizes a portion of the cost for this activity.

Restrictions: Not open to students who have taken or are taking ENVB 315.

Overview

Bioresource Engineering : Measurements and analysis of components of the water cycle. Precipitation, evaporation, infiltration and groundwater. Analysis of hydrologic data. Hydrograph theory. Hydrologic estimations for design of water control projects; flood control and reservoir routing. Integrated watershed management and water conservation. Water management systems for environmental protection.

Terms: Winter 2015

Instructors: Shiv Prasher (Winter)

3 lectures, one 2-hour lab

Restriction: Not open to students who have taken ABEN 217.

Note: This course carries an additional course charge of $30 to cover transportation costs for two field trips, which may include a visit to a national weather station and a trip to gain hands-on experience on monitoring water flow in streams.

Overview

Bioresource Engineering : An introduction to engineering aspects of handling, storage and treatment of all biological and food industry wastes. Design criteria will be elaborated and related to characteristics of wastes. Physical, chemical and biological treatment systems.

Overview

Biotechnology : Examination of particular social and ethical challenges posed by modern biotechnology such as benefit sharing, informed consent in the research setting, access to medical care worldwide, environmental safety and biodiversity and the ethical challenges posed by patenting life.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Overview

Chemistry : Basic concepts of electronic structure and molecular bonding will be developed and applied to the understanding of common materials. Acid-base chemistry. Survey of the chemistry of the main group elements. Introduction to coordination and organometallic chemistry.

Overview

Chemistry : New reactions and methods which can be used for the production of chemicals from renewable feedstocks; the use of new environmentally benign solvents, catalysts and reagents; organic reactions in aqueous media and in supercritical carbon dioxide; bio-catalysis and bio-processes.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Overview

Civil Engineering : State-of-the-art water resources management techniques; case studies of their application to Canadian situations; identification of major issues and problem areas; interprovincial and international river basins; implications of development alternatives; institutional arrangements for planning and development of water resources; and, legal and economic aspects.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Overview

Entomology : A field course and project about arthropod taxonomy, field methods and experimental design in entomology. Includes natural history observation, and experimental approaches to arthropod population and community ecology.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Overview

Environmental Biology : With reference to the ecosystems in the St Lawrence lowlands, the principles and processes governing climate-landform-water-soil-vegetation systems and their interactions will be examined in lecture and laboratory. Emphasis on the natural environment as an integrated system.

Overview

Environmental Biology : Interactions between organisms and their environment; historical and current perspectives in applied and theoretical population and community ecology. Principles of population dynamics, feedback loops, and population regulation. Development and structure of communities; competition, predation and food web dynamics. Biodiversity science in theory and practice.

Overview

Environmental Biology : Biotic and abiotic processes that control the flows of energy, nutrients and water through ecosystems; emergent system properties; approaches to analyzing complex systems. Labs include collection and multivariate analysis of field data.

Overview

Environmental Biology : Through the examination of cases studies presented in a modular format, students will be exposed to a variety of ecosystem processes. Choice of components, interactions and type of management to achieve desired endpoints will be discussed.

Overview

Environment : A systems approach to study the different components of the environment involved in global climate change: the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. The interactions among these components. Their role in global climate change. The human dimension to global change.

Overview

Environment : Formation of the Earth and the evolution of life. How geological and biological change are the consequence of history, chance, and necessity acting over different scales of space and time. General principles governing the formation of modern landscapes and biotas. Effects of human activities on natural systems.

Overview

Earth & Planetary Sciences : Learn about Earth's origin, its place in the solar system, its internal structure, rocks and minerals, the formation of metal and fossil fuel deposits, and the extinction of dinosaurs. Discover the impact of the volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and mountain chains on Earth's past, present and future. Explore 125 million-year-old Mount Royal.

Terms: Fall 2014, Winter 2015

Instructors: Anthony E Williams-Jones (Fall) Alfonso Mucci (Winter)

Fall or Winter

3 hours lectures; afternoon field trips

Restriction: Not open to students who have taken or are taking EPSC 233.

Overview

Earth & Planetary Sciences : Advanced techniques for interrogating the stratigraphic record. Topics include cyclicity in the sedimentary record, sequence stratigraphy, chemostratigraphy, sedimentary control on the fossil record, and the record of deep sea sediment cores.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Overview

Earth System Science : Principal concepts of systems modelling related to earth system science and environmental science. Students explore the ideas of state, stability, equilibria, feedbacks, and complexity using simple models.

Overview

Geography : Introduction to geography as the study of nature and human beings in a spatial context. An integrated approach to environmental systems and the human organization of them from the viewpoint of spatial relationships and processes. Special attention to environmental problems as a constraint upon Third World development.

Overview

Geography : An introduction to Geographic Information Systems. The systematic management of spatial data. The use and construction of maps. The use of microcomputers and software for mapping and statistical work. Air photo and topographic map analyses.

Overview

Geography : An examination of global change, from the Quaternary Period to the present day involving changes in the physical geography of specific areas. Issues such as climatic change and land degradation will be discussed, with speculations on future environments.

Overview

Geography : Introduction to the study of landforms as products of geomorphic and geologic systems acting at and near the Earth's surface. The process geomorphology approach will be used to demonstrate how landforms of different geomorphic settings represent a dynamic balance between forces acting in the environment and the physical properties of materials present.

Overview

Geography : A conceptual view of remote sensing and the underlying physical principles. Covers ground-based, aerial, satellite systems, and the electromagnetic spectrum, from visible to microwave. Emphasis on application of remotely sensed data in geography including land cover change and ecological processes.

Overview

Geography : The earth-atmosphere system, radiation and energy balances. Surface-atmosphere exchange of energy, mass and momentum and related atmospheric processes on a local and regional scale. Introduction to measurement theory and practice in micrometeorology.

Overview

Geography : The course focuses on the physical habitat conditions found in streams, rivers, estuaries and deltas. Based on the laws governing flow of water and sediment transport, it emphasizes differences among these environments, in terms of channel form, flow patterns, substrate composition and mode of evolution. Flooding, damming, channelisation, forestry impacts.

Overview

Geography : An examination of the structure, function and utility of wetlands. Topics include the fluxes of energy and water, wetland biogeochemistry, plant ecology in freshwater and coastal wetlands and wetlands use, conservation and restoration. Field trip(s) are envisaged to illustrate issues covered in class.

Overview

Life Sciences : The occurrence and importance of microorganisms (especially bacteria) in the biosphere. Principles governing growth, death and metabolic activities of microorganisms. An introduction to the microbiology of soil, water, plants, food, man and animals.

Overview

Microbiology (Agric&Envir Sc) : The ecology of microorganisms, primarily bacteria and archaea, and their roles in biogeochemical cycles will be discussed. Microbial interactions with the environment, plants, animals and other microbes emphasizing the underlying genetics and physiology. Diversity, evolution (microbial phylogenetics) and the application of molecular biology in microbial ecology.

Terms: Winter 2015

Instructors: Brian T Driscoll (Winter)

Winter

Restriction: Not open to students who have successfully completed NRSC 331

Overview

Mining & Materials Engineering : Critical examination of the socio-economic costs and benefits of technology, case studies of old engineering works and new technologies. The integration of applied ethics and engineering practice, analysis of basic concepts of technology assessment, the inter-connected processes of risk assessment, management, and communication.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Overview

Mining & Materials Engineering : The extraction of energy resources, i.e. coal, gas, oil and tar sands. After a brief geological review, different extraction techniques for these substances will be discussed. Emphasis on problems such as northern mining and offshore oil extraction with reference to Canadian operations. Transportation and marketing.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Overview

Microbiology and Immun (Sci) : A general treatment of microbiology bearing specifically on the biological properties of microorganisms. Emphasis will be on procaryotic cells. Basic principles of microbial genetics are also introduced.

Overview

Microbiology and Immun (Sci) : An introduction to the composition and structure of microbial cells, the biochemical activities associated with cellular metabolism and how these activities are regulated and coordinated. The course will have a molecular and genetic approach to the study of microbial physiology.

Overview

Microbiology and Immun (Sci) : A study of the fundamental properties of viruses and their interactions with host cells. Bacteriophages, DNA- and RNA-containing animal viruses, and retroviruses are covered. Emphasis will be on phenomena occurring at the molecular level and on the regulated control of gene expression in virus-infected cells.

Overview

Natural Resource Sciences : Issues of community and global change in relation to environment and the production of food. Contrasts between developed and developing countries will highlight impacts of colonialism, political structures, and cultural systems related to gender, class and ethnicity.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Winter

3 lectures

Prerequisite: A 200-level course in food science, food resources or dietetics, or permission of instructor.

Overview

Natural Resource Sciences : Interaction between plant communities and the atmosphere. The physical processes governing the transfer of heat, mass and momentum as they relate to research and production in agricultural and environmental systems. Experimental techniques for measuring fluxes of heat, water-vapour, CO2 and natural and man-made pollutants.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Overview

Parasitology : Infectious pathogens of humans and animals and their impact on the global environment are considered. The central tenet is that infectious pathogens are environmental risk factors. The course considers their impact on the human condition and juxtaposes the impact of control and treatment measures and environmental change.

Overview

Parasitology : The origin and types of water contaminants including live organisms, infectious agents and chemicals of agricultural and industrial origins. Conventional and new technological developments to eliminate water pollutants. Comparisons of water, health and sanitation between industrialized and developing countries.

Overview

Plant Science : This course describes the various groups of fungi and explores in depth their biology and physiology, their ecological niches and the role in various ecosystems and their benefits and uses in industry and biotechnology.

Overview

Plant Science : The theory and concepts of plant pathology, including the disease cycle, infection, symptoms, resistance, epidemiology and control. The biology and taxonomy of pathogens will be studied, including fungi, bacteria, viruses and nematodes. Techniques of inoculation, isolation of pathogens from diseased plants, disease diagnosis and pathogen identification will be demonstrated.

A $51.30 fee is charged to all students registered in this course, which has a fieldwork component prior to the beginning of classes in August. This fee is used to support the cost of excursions, a hand lens, instructional handouts and identification aids. Students who have already received a hand lens may request a reimbursement of a portion of this charge through their department.

Overview

Plant Science : Theory and practice of plant ecology with an emphasis on the interaction between patterns and ecological processes and the dynamics, conservation and management of plant populations and communities over a range of temporal and spatial scales.

Overview

Soil Science : Interactions between Earth's various geologic systems and how these interactions lead to mineral and rock formation. Geomorphic processes and how various landforms are created by the interactions at the Earth's surface between the various geologic systems.

Terms: Winter 2015

Instructors: George McCourt (Winter)

Winter

Restrictions: Not open to students who have taken SOIL 200. Restricted to U2 students and above.